Motability: Community Transport Grants
Overview
Through this grant programme they hope to help charities and organisations to undertake research to help them better understand the problems that disabled people face in the transport system and to how they can be solved.
Through an extensive programme of research and engagement the Motability Foundation has identified three Routes to Impact in the research sector which they are seeking to support with grant funding. The framework identifies these Routes to Impact, and outlines how improvements in these areas can benefit disabled people. The framework looks to address
- Evidence generation and influencing
- Replicating good practice
- Improved services
They believe that research in these areas has the greatest chance of delivering meaningful change for disabled people, and supporting the Motability Foundation’s key outcomes of:
- Access – Increased ability to access people and places using transport
- Choice and Control – Improved independence and control to make decisions
- Connect – Increased social connections and relationships
- Education – Increased ability to access education and training
- Work – Increased ability to work and pursue a career
- Wellbeing – Improved sense of health and wellbeing
Funding
The Motability Foundation is awarding £50 million in Grants to Charities and Organisations during the next financial years ending March 2025.
A portion of this has been allocated to the Community Transport Grant Programme.
Grant Value
- Minimum - £100,000
- Maximum - £4,000,000
Grant length
You can apply for one, two or three years’ funding in any year of the programme. For example, you could apply for £102,000 in total over three years, which would be £34,000 per annum.
What can be funded?
- Continuation funding for schemes, programmes and initiatives that already exist, and who provide best practice solutions, but need further support to remain operational or scale up the service they can provide to help more disabled people.
- Staff or volunteer training and costs.
- Funding to increase the number of vehicles available to help organisations support disabled people access the wider community. This would not include a shuttle service taking clients to and from a specific service only.
- Full cost recovery grants which includes indirect costs.
- Local, regional, or national initiatives to increase awareness of community transport and influence its inclusion in transport strategy and policy.
Priority will be given to organisations who:
- Are clearly meeting the third, fourth and fifth routes to impact on page 3 of Guidance (new and improved policy, greater sector resilience and shape best practice).
- Have well-established ways of working that make a demonstrable difference to the lives of disabled people.
- Are making both an immediate and longer term impact on the lives of disabled people.
- Can demonstrate that their application takes into account the views and needs of their beneficiaries and that they will continue to be involved during the delivery of the work.
Who can apply
They launched this grant programme to help charities and organisations to make an immediate impact for disabled people, by awarding funding to develop, expand and improve community transport options. They are focussing our grant making for this programme on:
- Funding support for staff or volunteer training and costs.
- Funding to increase the number of vehicles available in the community to help organisations support disabled people.
- Funding local, regional, or national initiatives to increase awareness of community transport and influence its inclusion in transport strategy and policy.
- Funding to schemes, programmes and initiatives that already exist, and which provide best practice solutions, but need further support to remain operational or scale up the service they can provide to help more disabled people.
Motability wants to support medium or large charities and organisations with well-established ways of working.
They ask that Applicant organisations meet the following criteria:
- You are a registered charity or an incorporated not-for-profit organisation identified as being able to deliver impact for disabled people and their transportation needs. This includes incorporated charities, companies limited by guarantee, community benefit societies, or CICs. If your organisation is a different structure outside of those listed here then please contact them before applying.
- You have been active for at least three years.
- You have had an annual income of at least £150,000 per annum over the last three years.
- You hold free reserves equivalent to at least three months of operating costs. Please contact them before applying if you do not hold three months of free reserves. The Motability Foundation will not generally award a Grant to Charities or Organisations holding more than 12 months of operating expenditure in reserves.